For my Tampa people...
Did you know that if you rent your homestead out for less than 14 days throughout the year that the income you receive is 100% tax free? Awesome, that means you can rent out your pad for the Superbowl weekend and all of that money you make is exempt from taxes...yay!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Capital Losses
Unfortunately this year there are not alot of folks with capital gains- most of us have capital losses.
It would be valuable to sit down with your advisor or CPA to see what losses you could take this year to help offset income. You can take a max. loss of $3,000 per year and deduct from your income on the front page of your 1040. If you have losses more than $3,000, you can carry them forward to future tax years.
** Keep in mind this applies to non-qualified accounts, not Retirement ( qualified accouts like your 401(k)'s, Roth's or IRA's)
Another thing to remember is that even though your mutual fund may have lost 30% YTD, your mutual fund may still be passing on capital gains from stocks they were forced to sell this year in the fund that still had a gain. Yes, that can really suck if you are getting passed a capital gain when you might not have owned the fund when they bought the stock that they are now selling at the capital gain. So you could accomplish 2 things, sell a fund at a loss to write off on your taxes and if you time it correctly, you can not own the fund when the capital gain is distributed in December.
Another thing to keep in mind is that if you still want to keep the investment, which is usually the case, you have to wait 30 days( wash rule) before you can buy the asset back again.
It would be valuable to sit down with your advisor or CPA to see what losses you could take this year to help offset income. You can take a max. loss of $3,000 per year and deduct from your income on the front page of your 1040. If you have losses more than $3,000, you can carry them forward to future tax years.
** Keep in mind this applies to non-qualified accounts, not Retirement ( qualified accouts like your 401(k)'s, Roth's or IRA's)
Another thing to remember is that even though your mutual fund may have lost 30% YTD, your mutual fund may still be passing on capital gains from stocks they were forced to sell this year in the fund that still had a gain. Yes, that can really suck if you are getting passed a capital gain when you might not have owned the fund when they bought the stock that they are now selling at the capital gain. So you could accomplish 2 things, sell a fund at a loss to write off on your taxes and if you time it correctly, you can not own the fund when the capital gain is distributed in December.
Another thing to keep in mind is that if you still want to keep the investment, which is usually the case, you have to wait 30 days( wash rule) before you can buy the asset back again.
The election and taxes
So, we have elected our first African-American President, I truly did not think we'd see this day at least for another 20 years. That shows the American people can change, or maybe we were just so thirsty for something different than the oh so popular Bush administration that we ran for the complete opposite.
I'l be the first to admist I don't know heck of alot about politics. I'd probably consider myself a left Republican, if that term even exists. Being in the finance industry is what ultimately drives me to the Republican side.
Obama has promised change, job growth, to fix the healthcare system etc. But we live in a country that makes its money how? Through taxes. To fund all of these programs, I don't know how he can do it without raising taxes, and I definitely don't believe in wealth redistribution.
I work hard for my money and want to make my money work hard for me, not give it to people who don't want to work hard and sit around with a sense of entitlement. Do you know what the highest expense you pay on your investment dollars is? It's not the 1-3% you pay on your stock transactions, mutual fund 12b1 fees, or investment fees to your advisors- it's the 10-35% you give to the government, and a Democrat president could eventually mean higher taxes ( ie higher income) to pay for all of these promised changes.
Of course, on the other hand I don't know what the other solutions are? How do we raise money without increasing taxes, spur job growth without raising debt to finance these big infrastructure improvements, and balance the budget all at the same time? and oh yeah fix this credit/housing crisis too? Obama, if you can figure this all out, hats off to you.
I'l be the first to admist I don't know heck of alot about politics. I'd probably consider myself a left Republican, if that term even exists. Being in the finance industry is what ultimately drives me to the Republican side.
Obama has promised change, job growth, to fix the healthcare system etc. But we live in a country that makes its money how? Through taxes. To fund all of these programs, I don't know how he can do it without raising taxes, and I definitely don't believe in wealth redistribution.
I work hard for my money and want to make my money work hard for me, not give it to people who don't want to work hard and sit around with a sense of entitlement. Do you know what the highest expense you pay on your investment dollars is? It's not the 1-3% you pay on your stock transactions, mutual fund 12b1 fees, or investment fees to your advisors- it's the 10-35% you give to the government, and a Democrat president could eventually mean higher taxes ( ie higher income) to pay for all of these promised changes.
Of course, on the other hand I don't know what the other solutions are? How do we raise money without increasing taxes, spur job growth without raising debt to finance these big infrastructure improvements, and balance the budget all at the same time? and oh yeah fix this credit/housing crisis too? Obama, if you can figure this all out, hats off to you.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
2009 IRA/401(k) contribution limits...
The #'s are out, the IRS just posted the IRA contribution limits for 2009 and they are as follows:
2008 Roth and Traditional IRA contribution limits- $5,000
2009 Roth and Traditional IRA contribution limits- $5,000 ( moving forward they are supposed to be adjusted for inflation, but the IRS did not see a need for an adjustment for inflation this year probably bc of the economy )
401(k) contribution limits: 2008- $15,500 2009- $16,500 -yay!
Over 50 year old catch ups-
401(k)'s- $5,500 for 2009 -( 2008 was 5,000)
For business owners, the Simple IRA has increased to $11,500 for 2009 from 10,500 for 2008. The over 50 catch up remains unchanged at $2,500)
PLAN ON INCREASING YOUR SAVINGS TO REFLECT THIS FOR 2009!
2008 Roth and Traditional IRA contribution limits- $5,000
2009 Roth and Traditional IRA contribution limits- $5,000 ( moving forward they are supposed to be adjusted for inflation, but the IRS did not see a need for an adjustment for inflation this year probably bc of the economy )
401(k) contribution limits: 2008- $15,500 2009- $16,500 -yay!
Over 50 year old catch ups-
401(k)'s- $5,500 for 2009 -( 2008 was 5,000)
For business owners, the Simple IRA has increased to $11,500 for 2009 from 10,500 for 2008. The over 50 catch up remains unchanged at $2,500)
PLAN ON INCREASING YOUR SAVINGS TO REFLECT THIS FOR 2009!
I'm back
Hello fellow blog readers, I've been out for the past few weeks, I just have had not the energy to talk finance after talking it all day at work, and we've just been surrounded by bad news too...
BUT I'm back and I will try to focus on the positives.
The market ended the week with a 11.31% gain in the Dow and a 10.53% gain on the SP500, great news! Some economists and analysts are thinking we might be reaching the bottom of this rollercoaster ride, what do you think?
BUT I'm back and I will try to focus on the positives.
The market ended the week with a 11.31% gain in the Dow and a 10.53% gain on the SP500, great news! Some economists and analysts are thinking we might be reaching the bottom of this rollercoaster ride, what do you think?
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